Energetica India Magazine December 2020

WOMEN INFLUENCERS “We Must Understand that an Equal World is an Enabled World” energetica INDIA- December_2020 29 Rajni Bhandari : Family plays an important role and their support is the most significant factor in people’s success especially for women. It’s been encouraging to see more and more women succeed at the workplace and this has come about due to the support of their family members. I would like to take this moment to acknowledge their con- tribution in our growth journey and especially the support of my family. What will be your suggestions for women taking a mid-ca- reer break and want to return to work? Rajni Bhandari : In the end the choice to take a mid-ca- reer break or a sabbatical is a personal one. Earlier, sab- baticals were thought of as bleak but now have come to be accepted and even encouraged by a lot of employ- ers to support work life balance and improve quality of life. Having taken one for motherhood a few years back all I would say is that there are opportunities available for women after taking mid-career breaks. It would be help- ful for women taking the break to stay connected with the industry and the developments so that they are able to get upto speed once they get back to work. Where did you see Indian renewable energy industry’s road towards ‘AatmaNirbhar’ in next five years? Rajni Bhandari : The Government of India has clearly laid out its initiative to reduce the industry’s dependence on imported equipment. The Indian renewable energy is well placed to make the shift, provided the domestic manufacturing industry scales up in time. I believe that self-reliance is inevitable, and it will be good for India if we are able to set up a robust manufacturing ecosystem and develop domestic capabilities that match or exceed the global quality levels as India rapidly moves towards its target of 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Is the availability of right kind of skilled manpower in the Indian renewables industry a challenge? What more could be done to tap this as an opportunity for India? Rajni Bhandari : India possesses one of the youngest and most well-educated work forces in the world. Having said that there is definitely a need for specialised courses fo - cused on renewable energy since the sector is playing such an important role in the energy landscape and will continue to do so for many more years to come. Your outlook on the present state of rooftop solar sector in India? Rajni Bhandari : Rooftop solar in India has not been able to scale up to the level and attained critical mass although it has tremendous potential. This has been primarily due to inadequate policy push and more focus been given to utility scale solar. Rooftop solar is most appropriate for Commercial & Indus- trial customers who have the highest power needs and the highest tariffs in the country. With Covid-19 resulting in disrupted operations and stretched margins for these consumers, solar rooftop or distributed generation can provide them access to cheaper and affordable power. This will help them reduce their manufacturing costs due to reduction in power costs and also mitigate their carbon footprint. Having said that, rooftop solar sector needs its own set of policies directed to promote rapid deployment of assets such as removal of upper limit for net metering, better fi - nancing options, and avoiding frequent policy revisions.